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Title: Booting from flash drive (Win 7 - XP)
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URL Source: http://ChuckW
Published: Mar 2, 2015
Author: Chuck_Wagon
Post Date: 2015-03-02 15:53:26 by Chuck_Wagon
Keywords: None
Views: 38018
Comments: 123
Just suppose that I wanted to create a machine that would FYI - I am planning to create this thing on a new Zotac So what I'm basically trying to do is create a 'disk-less' Thanks for any help / insight! ZBOX 1320-U:
boot from a USB flash drive - a relatively big flash drive -
32gb to 64gb - or whatever is required.
And I wanted this thing to boot either Win7 or XP.
Anybody here have any experience with such an experience?
'ZBox' with a Celeron processor and 4GB of memory (which I
have - the memory - not the Zbox).
computer. Shouldn't be fraught with problems - Eh? 
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 103.
#1. To: Chuck_Wagon (#0)
(Edited)
You likely be better off with smaller notebook 2.5" flash drive that is designed for use as a system drive. Typically these have RAM for caching data and eliminating a lot of disk rewrites (that would shorten a USB flash drive's lifetime). And they have a true disk interface. USB just isn't as good. USB is also potentially a source for unstoppable computer viruses to hide out. Look at Amazon and you'll find 32GB Crucial solid-state drives with 3Gbps SATA interface for $38 or instead choose a 128GB Seagate drive with 6Gbps SATA3 interface for under $60 (I'd urge you to consider this one as it is a reputable drive with a good record, very fast, and will work quite well with these Zotac units you're considering and it is four times bigger with a better interface for only twice the price).
I agree. USB thumbdrives are great for portability, and using "your computer" on different actual machines (like a repair technician might do.) But USB drives are also very slow compared to an internal drive. I just received a ZBOX 1320-U with 4Gb of RAM on Saturday and put a Western Digital 320 Gb SATA II drive in it that I bought last year for $45. Today it's only $30 + shipping, and the newer/faster SATA III is $39 & FREE SHIPPING. Working great with mint linux installed. But running off the USB (thumb drive and external dvd) is noticeablly slower than the internal hard drive.
#4. To: TooConservative, Chuck_Wagon (#1)
You likely be better off with smaller notebook 2.5" flash drive that is designed for use as a system drive
#7. To: Willie Green, TooConservative, Pridie.Nones, cranky (#4)
...forget it.. The only reason I am considering this bootable USB I have a little problem - my right hand and arm are See, last time I had to do something like this, Staples So if I'm going to pack all of the parts into a box and ship Thanks for your help folks!
...noticeablly slower...
option is the problem of installing a 2.5 inch
drive in a little bookshelf case.
mostly paralyzed - which makes working on itsy bitsy,
teeny, tiny things like SATA connectors difficult
for me to do. So I was thinking: "If I can..." -
I'm sure y'all get the general idea I was getting at.
'Ease of assembly' was what I was aiming for.
charged me $40 bucks. Which isn't really that much,
but it annoys me to pay that to do something as simple
as install a hard drive. I have a friend who is competent
enough to do it, but I don't want to keep annoying him
with my problems. I have another friend who used to run
his own computer/electronics repair shop - but he and
wife and kids moved to West Virginia.
it to WV with a note and cash for return shipping, and
annoy HIM, I might as well grab my wallet and drive 2 miles
to Staples...
#11. To: Chuck_Wagon (#7)
A five minute job. Surely you could hire a neighborhood kid to do this for you. If you can handle opening and closing the case yourself, it's a two-minute job. Watch Willie's vids. A lot of laptops and tiny PCs with 2.5" drives are built so that the drive is almost self-guiding into a groove and onto the SATA data/power connectors. It is much much easier than messing around with IDE cables and power cords.
See, last time I had to do something like this, Staples charged me $40 bucks.
#14. To: TooConservative, Fred Mertz (#11)
Try doing it with one hand.
A pain in the zorch - trust me.
Many things are.
Try changing a tire one-handed. Ehhh.....
#15. To: Chuck_Wagon (#14)
Don't do it yourself, you g**damned retard. Get help from a friend or neighbor or kid. Sorry, I couldn't resist, since you don't listen very well.
#21. To: Fred Mertz (#15)
I take after my Mom. I couldn't resist, since you don't listen very well.
YOU get her to listen to my investment advice.
It's utterly impossible.
#24. To: Chuck_Wagon (#21)
It's how our aging parents get even with us for being rotten all those times when we were kids.
YOU get her to listen to my investment advice.
#28. To: TooConservative (#24)
Hey, I was a GREAT kid. With the possible exception of ...how our aging parents get even with us for being rotten...
when I was a teenager. And we won't discuss that one
time when my mother had to pick me up at the police
station. It was a big MISUNDERSTANG - but no one listened...
#29. To: Chuck_Wagon (#28) (Edited)
Obviously you were beyond suspicion. It's so unfair. So are you going to follow Willy's advice and install your own 2.5" hard drive? It was the point of the thread. I like for how-to threads to resolve themselves into action.
#30. To: sneakypete, Chuck_Wagon (#29)
So did you find ever someone to trench that Ethernet cable out to your shop for Roku streaming there? I kinda wondered if the ground got too frozen for that to be a winter project.
I like for how-to threads to resolve themselves into action.
#66. To: TooConservative (#30)
Yes,but right after I contacted him he got shingles,and has been out of action ever since. Then the ground did freeze,so there was no need to call him. I plan on getting in touch with him later this week. It's supposed to get warmer and rain a couple of days,so the ground should be pretty soft after that.
So did you find ever someone to trench that Ethernet cable out to your shop for Roku streaming there?
#69. To: sneakypete (#66)
Let us know how it works. How deep you'll trench it, whether you are using PVC with an indoor cable inside it, or some ready-made underground-certified cable, or even just standard indoor Ethernet cable buried with no shielding. Amazon: 50' waterproof Ethernet cable $40 Amazon: 100' waterproof Direct Burial Ethernet cable If you have the cabling already, you could string it up in the air from roof to roof, especially if you can route through a tree or two between house and shop. But we know that's really not a good solution and would involve ladders. I can't recall anyone I know personally burying Ethernet to an outbuilding. Hence my curiosity.
I plan on getting in touch with him later this week. It's supposed to get warmer and rain a couple of days,so the ground should be pretty soft after that.
#72. To: TooConservative (#69)
This is the ethernet cable I bought. I also bought cable ends as well as the special crimping pliers to attach the cable ends so I can cut cable to length. www.amazon.com/gp/product...age_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Here is the conduit I bought to run the ethernet cable through and to bury. I checked around and bought it on sale at half of amazon's price from a local building supply. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product..._detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 And here is the "fish" I bought to pull the ethernet cable through the conduit. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product...age_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I plan on burying it maybe 6-12 inches deep. That will be plenty deep for my purposes. Once buried,I am covering the whole area with large gravel because I am tired of getting my feet wet walking from the house to the shop,and because it is easier to see a snake on the gravel walking from the shop to the house after dark than if there were still grass growing there.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product...age_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product...age_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
#73. To: sneakypete (#72)
I don't see why you need that since your conduit is above ground right now. Pretty expensive too. Can't you manually slide the cable through the conduit before burying it?
And here is the "fish" I bought to pull the ethernet cable through the conduit.
#76. To: Fred Mertz (#73)
Ever try to push a flexible cable like a ethernet cable 100 feet through half inch conduit? Plus the ethernet cable takes a couple of 90 degree bends between the house and the shop. Yeah,I could go "old school" like I used to and tie a lead fishing weight to the ethernet cable,get up on the roof,and shake the conduit and feed the ethernet cable down the conduit,but I just don't have the patience for that kind of crap at my age. I'll spend the 40 bucks to be able to do it in 5 minutes standing on the ground rather that go through all that grief. Plus I can use the fish to pull electrical wire through walls,car wiring through firewalls and dashes,etc,etc,etc. I don't have to use it but the one time to pull the ethernet cable 100 feet and around several corners and it has paid for itself in MY opinion. I grew up poor and had to work hard. Now I prefer to work smart.
I don't see why you need that since your conduit is above ground right now. Pretty expensive too. Can't you manually slide the cable through the conduit before burying it?
#85. To: sneakypete (#76)
So why go through all the trouble of trenching ethernet?I grew up poor and had to work hard. Now I prefer to work smart.
Wouldn't WiFi be a heckuva lot easier?
I've never had use for them myself, but I've seen a variety of wifi signal boosters/repeaters and range extenders available if your reception is currently too poor.
#89. To: Willie Green (#85) (Edited)
Because my shop has steel walls,and the "office" where I have my tv and desk located is a structure with insulated 2x6 walls. Wi-Fi signals won't penetrate. Wouldn't WiFi be a heckuva lot easier? No. See above. I've seen a variety of wifi signal boosters/repeaters and range extenders available if your reception is currently too poor. My reception out in the shop isn't poor,it's non-existent. A repeater that mounts to the outside wall MAY work,but if you read the reviews,not everybody is happy with them. I don't want to spend 50 bucks or more on a device and then do the work to install it and run inside lines,only to find out it doesn't work for me. I'd rather go ahead and spend 100 bucks or so to run a underground ethernet cable so I know for sure I have a solid connection and I can be done with it and move on to something else. Yeah,I am more than a little anal,and there is little I hate more in life that having to do something more than once. The older I get the less time I have,and the more I hate repeating work. Money comes and goes,but time is the one thing none of us will ever have more of.
So why go through all the trouble of trenching ethernet?
#92. To: sneakypete (#89)
Okay... I was about to suggest an outdoor antenna to bring the signal into your shop, but since you've already considered that, there's no sense rehashing the subject. I don't have any first hand experience to make any recommendations anyway. Besides, I prefer the reliability of hardwired connections whenever possible also....
A repeater that mounts to the outside wall MAY work,but if you read the reviews,not everybody is happy with them.
#96. To: Willie Green (#92)
It's safe to say we really did beat that horse to death. Okay... I was about to suggest an outdoor antenna to bring the signal into your shop
#99. To: TooConservative (#96)
Well my engineering expertise is all industrial/manufacturing, so I'm extemely biased in favor of shielded cable & conduit for anything electrical to begin with. I don't trust electricity and it really makes me cringe whenever I see slipshod residential wiring. LOL!It's safe to say we really did beat that horse to death.
So although I think the wifi would be easier, I also agree with his reasoning for digging the trench.
#100. To: Willie Green (#99)
Well, trenching cable was certainly not pete's first choice. Nor any of the rest of us.
#101. To: TooConservative (#100)
Well then get some waterproof/outdoor connectors and string it up like clothesline. pete can even save on his utility bill and keep his neighbors from whining by actually using it to dry his laundry! Dual-purpose ethernet! (Aren't you sorry you asked? LOL!)
Well, trenching cable was certainly not pete's first choice. Nor any of the rest of us.
You can even use some surplus PVC plumbing to help prop it up along the way:
Plus it's easier than digging a trench!
#102. To: Willie Green (#101)
Yeah but some people really want the grounds around their house neat and uncluttered. They have a point. Besides, the PVC clothesline thing is still far more susceptible to damage and might even attract undesired flocks of birds. And enough PVC to make a few of those poles tall enough and pete would have spent enough to pay to bury it. I think pete's neighbors are a mile or more away.
Well then get some waterproof/outdoor connectors and string it up like clothesline.
#103. To: TooConservative (#102)
Well then instead of draping it between poles like clothesline, pete can hardpipe it like conduit the full distance... only it'd be 8~10' above ground instead of buried in a trench. Then he could drape some tarps or plastic sheeting over it and stake it out like a tent. That way he could use it like a covered walkway from his house to his shop, sheltered from the wind & rain. If it was clear plastic, he could also use it like a greenhouse for whatever vegetables or exotic orchids he might want to grow.... Hmmm... I wonder if there's some way to incorporate solar panels into this thing so he can generate his own electricity too?
Besides, the PVC clothesline thing is still far more susceptible to damage and might even attract undesired flocks of birds.
Replies to Comment # 103.
#104. To: Willie Green (#103)
While I don't picture pete as some fussy German neatnik, he doesn't strike me as someone who wants sloppy looking grounds around his house. Depending on his location, weather could play a big role in how reliable a cable suspended in the air would be. High wind areas, areas that get hurricanes or ice storms regularly, those would all argue against aerial suspension and for burying the cable in conduit.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestWell then instead of draping it between poles like clothesline, pete can hardpipe it like conduit the full distance... only it'd be 8~10' above ground instead of buried in a trench. Then he could drape some tarps or plastic sheeting over it and stake it out like a tent. That way he could use it like a covered walkway from his house to his shop, sheltered from the wind & rain. If it was clear plastic, he could also use it like a greenhouse for whatever vegetables or exotic orchids he might want to grow....
End Trace Mode for Comment # 103.
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